Kamen Rider Blaze
by AisenThePaladin
Summary: Melchior was a relaxed and laid back guy but would soon find out that his entire world would be turned upside down when he gains the powers of a rider and has to fight to protect what he holds dear, his home town and eventually the entire world.
1. Chapter 1: Name's Blaze!

**Hiya . Aisen here with my first fanfic EVER. It's about what I really really like .. Kamen Rider .. Title and category didn't spoil that at all huh. So please enjoy this first sneak peak of a series that will have many chapters. I found thanks to my wonderful fiance (Nathalorial). I do have the next few chapters written down but I won't post them until I know that at least someone likes this.** **That's the blurb from me, read and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider belongs to Toei Inc. I do however own the idea of Blaze and the rest of the riders in this version.**

* * *

Sora City was a very sleepy city with very few things happening around the tall glass buildings. The people here were used to doing their things on a routine schedule, but it would all change very soon.

All the people around him was annoying him to no end, they were wearing their fancy suits and buzzing around like busy little worker bees. He himself was wearing a long black coat that was ornamented with silver dragons and red jewels. He was Melchior. You could call him an outsider or outcast but that didn't bother him at all, in fact he liked the idea of being a loner. He could usually be found lying down on the third stone slab of the fountain in the middle of Sora City, that's where he's at when everything was about to change.

"Look at all these people, scurrying around like they have nothing better to do than running their routine lives. It's pitiful." he exclaimed with a deep drawn sigh to show his lack of care. He leaned back to lie down on the stone slab again and was watching up towards the skies.  
Something glimmering caught his eye, but before he knew what it was it had hit him right on his face.

"Ouch, what the heck!?" he called out as he was hit by the mysterious object which he instantly removed, leaving a red mark on his face. It was a pair of goggles that he looked at with wide eyes. They were black and silver just like his coat so he thought that they would make a fine addition to his attire so he drew the cord from the back of the goggles around his head and placed it neatly on his head. Little did he know that these were no ordinary goggles, but he would soon get to know them better than anyone else.

"_Hey! Are you going to be my user?_" a voice echoed inside his head which made him sit straight up looking around for the source of the voice but there was no one talking to him. He shrugged and then lied back down on the stone slab but the voice came back stronger this time "_Hey! I'm talking to you!_". Now he knew that someone was talking to him so he sat up once again and did another look around and found no one again. He then remembered the goggles he had just put on and asked out loud.

"Who are you? And what do you want from me?"  
"_I'm Blaze, the spirit that resides inside this rider system. Are you my new user?_"  
"Blaze, spirit, rider system, user .. I don't understand any of this!"  
"_Okay .. Taking it from the top then .. Once again, I'm Blaze. A spirit that resides in the rider system you just picked up. A rider system is a combat enhancing system that allows any ordinary person to obtain a lot of power. But that person has to bind their soul to the spirit of that system to be allowed usage of it. So if you're my user, we'll have to make a contract first._"  
"That makes sense, seems like a lot of fun so I guess I'll try it out then, name's Melchior and I will be your user Blaze."

Not a moment later the ground next to the fountain started to crack up and eventually burst up, sending pieces of rock flying in every directions hitting people and glass windows. After that a creature jumped up and hissed menacingly at people around it.

"_Not a moment too late eh? I was wondering when they would show up._" Blazes' voice echoed inside Melchiors head once more.  
"They?" Melchior asked back.  
"_They are different from us spirits. These guys want to kill humanity while we're trying to save them. This one is a goblin, a lower rank that we could easily dispose off._"  
"Okay, how exactly?"  
"_Flick the switch next to the right side of the rider system and place it over your waist, it will make a belt. Then run your hand over it and say 'Henshin', I'll take care of the rest._"  
"Fine."

The last word that Melchior gave out while sighing was a sign that he was a bit annoyed. He did just as Blaze had instructed and flicked the switch on the right side of the goggles and with a small mechanical sound it did indeed become a belt buckle that he then held in front of his waist. A belt came out of the buckle that spun around him to secure it back in the buckle, slapping it tightly on his waist. He then run his hand over the buckle and said out loud and clear "Henshin". The buckle started glowing red and waves of fire started to surround him, making his black coat change with some fire red markings that was glimmering in the sunlight. The flames around him came closer to him but they didn't burn him when they wrapped up around his legs, hands and head, instead they started to form a kind of armor made of metal. The belt changed as well, now on his hip was a sheath that held some kind of sword. It had a hilt like a gun and had a barrel that could hold up to six bullets. The blade itself was made out of crystal that shimmered brightly in the sunlight. He instantly drew it and and leaped forward from the stone slab towards the goblin who now noticed Blaze and quickly dodges out of the way of his blade. Blaze observed the goblin as it did a little dance to taunt Blaze into attacking again but he kept his distance, he knew that goblins were tricky. Standing his ground, he held up his blade with the tip of it against the goblin who now had a very curious look on his face but didn't have time to react more. Blaze pulled the trigger and a huge blast emitted from the blade and sent a bullet flying straight for the goblin that got hit in the shoulder. It did however not even faze the goblin as it regenerated within seconds.

"_How are we supposed to dispose of something that can heal itself that fast?_" Melchiors voice was echoing within Blazes head this time.  
"We have to use a Revolver Break_._"  
"_A Revolver what?_"  
"A Revolver Break, focus your energy on the blade, I'll handle the rest."  
"_Hmpf, alright._"

Melchior was clearly annoyed now but he did as he was told. Focusing all his energy into the blade in which responded by changing from its calm and relaxed blue color into a fiery red color. Blaze rushed forward, holding the blade up high but stopped right before the goblin and unleashed a big fire wave by slashing his blade down. Instantly destroying every last bit of the goblin.

The fires again wrapped around Blaze but this time they were removing the armor and the stripes on his coat disappeared. When the helmet dissipated you could once more see Melchiors face, his exhaustion was clearly shown by pearls of sweat glistening on his face.

"Boy am I glad that is over.." Melchior exhaled out and sat down on the ground.  
"_And you're supposed to be my rider .. You need to get stronger._"  
"Easy for you to say, you're just a spirit."  
"_Being a spirit has nothing to do with it._"

Melchior didn't respond but caught the belt as it transformed back into his goggles and put it neatly back into its place on his head. Blaze noticed Melchiors annoyance and didn't push on it anymore, he knew that his user was tired. Melchior reached up a hand to the goggles and tapped them lightly.

"I gotta hand it to you though, you knew what you were doing and saved the people around us. That's something I could get used to."  
"_No, Melchior. You cannot be exposed as my user, that would compromise us and you would become an easy target for 'them'_"  
"Oh .. Okay. Who are they anyway? You keep calling it 'them' or 'they', you haven't actually told me anything about what I'm facing. A little information about my foes would help in the long run, wouldn't it?"  
"_I guess you're right, there's not harm done in explaining what you're up against. 'They' are the demons from the Nether Realm. Just like I am from the Celestial Realm, we strive to protect humanity while they just want to wreak havoc on you. We were sent out by the high council in order to help you survive this attack. What you just fought was a low class goblin. They are mainly used as reconnaissance. A scout so to speak off._"  
"Alright I think I get it now. You can count on me."

Melchior tapped the goggles again as a handshake and smiled widely while crossing his arms like he was boasting over a big victory. Little did he know that he was being observed from the shadows by two mysteriously looking people.

"He exceeds our expectations by far .. This is bad."  
"We need to report to Panther about this."  
"No, not yet. It's too early to say anything about him. He could still fail."  
"We still can't take that risk! If he binds too well with the spirit.. He could be the end of us all!"  
"Fine .. Tattle all you like, I'm staying here."

* * *

**How was that huh? A bit of a cliff hanger I know but it will get better as the series goes along. As said this is my first fanfic ever written. I've done roleplays before but never something on this bigger scale. R&R =D**


	2. Chapter 2: Guns Blazing!

**Alright, since the previous chapter got a pretty good response acording to me. I'm uploading the next one right away. This one will reveal a bit more of the plot and fleshen out the main character a bit more. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider belongs to Toei Inc. I do however own the idea of Blaze and the rest of the riders in this version.**

* * *

Melchior woke up from being bathed in sunlight that found its way around his curtains. With a loud grunt he got up from his warm and comfortable bed to move over to the window and open the curtains. He found out to his liking that it was a clear and sunny morning and not a single trace of a cloud in the skies. This was a normal occurrence in Sora City. He decided to open the window and let in some of the fresh spring air into his cramped up apartment. After getting dressed he ran by the ramen shop to get his usual extra large serving of beef ramen and gulped it down in almost what would seem like one bite. A few drops of the broth hit the goggles on his head and Blaze was not happy with that fact.

"_You know, you eat like a pig, Melchior." _Blazes voice was once again inside Melchiors head, echoing with a displeased tone.  
"Oh shut it, Blaze. I for one actually _can_ eat."

The shop owner was looking at Melchior with a raised eyebrow. Melchior quickly responded with that he was just thinking out loud for a play that he was taking part of. A crappy lie since he didn't even like theatrics at all. When he'd finished his bowl of ramen he bowed appreciatively to the shop owner and put the money on the counter before running off into the city.

"_How clever of you to speak out loud to me near other people._" Blazes voice was once again lacking any sign of happiness, all that could be found in it was annoyance.  
"That's just because you had to speak to me when people were near."  
"_And you have to learn to watch your mouth, preferably before I burn you to a crisp._"  
"You wouldn't dare, you need me to fight of the goblins."  
"_I could just find another user. They're not that uncommon._"

Melchior picked up a hint of uncertainty in Blazes' voice and smirked as he replied.

"You're a crappy liar, you know that don't you?"  
"_Who says I'm lying?_"  
"Your tone of voice revealed everything."  
"_Fine, you win. Since we're bound by the contract I cannot get rid of you anyway._"  
"So it was just an empty threat huh?"

Blaze kept his silence now, a sign that he had given up on the argument between the two. Melchior smiled as he walked up to the fountain and was just about to lie down when he saw the cracks in the concrete nearby and was reminded about the fight from the previous day. He started to think about how his life would drasticly change from that day. He would have to keep himself in shape so that Blaze could utilize his body the best. After a couple of minutes he finally decided to actually go and train outside the city border, in the deep forest. He had always wondered why there was such a vast forest just outside the city, that didn't make much sense in the world they lived in. Everything, or mostly everything was modernized nowadays. So why would there be a big and deep forest so close to the City.

"_Any plans on what to do today, Melchior?_" Blazes' voice was finally back. He didn't sound as annoyed as he did earlier. This time it had a tone of curiosity in it.

"I was thinking about training so that you could utilize my body better. But I can't do that in the city so I'm heading to the forest just outside the border."  
"_That would be a good idea. Small fry like goblins usually hide in forests._"  
"Wait, are you telling me I have to do actual combat again?"  
"_Yes, but this time I will leave you in charge until I see that I have to take over._"  
"Alright, I can count on you to not get me killed, right?"  
"_Of course, who do you think I am?_"  
"You're Blaze the spirit of course."  
"_That's Blaze the Burning to you._"  
"Alright, alright, lets just get going, oh mighty Blaze the Burning."

Melchior ended the conversation in order to move with more quicker steps towards the border of the city. He was very eager to try his own skills against a demon. A goblin was of low rank but still a demon nonetheless. Once reaching the border to the forest he flicked the switch on the goggles to make it turn into the belt buckle and then placed it on his hip like before.

"Henshin!" The words came out more naturally this time and once again the flames enveloped him to form his armor. This time was different from last time. Melchior was in control and he felt a rush of energy it him. He felt like he could topple the world with this kind of power but it didn't take long before he was almost rendered unconscious from it.

"_Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy okay? This kind of power might be beyond what your mind can handle._"  
"No, let me handle this."  
"_If you say so. But if I sense that you're in danger. I'm pulling you out of it, alright?_"  
"Alright."

Melchior unsheathed the shimmering blue crystal gunblade from its sheath and held it up in the air. It was heavier than he'd expected it to be and almost dropped it back to the ground. But for some reason he could hold it upright long enough to fire off a bullet. The recoil made him fall down to a kneeling position. He quickly glanced up to see if anything was close to him and he saw that a goblin wielding a greatsword had taken notice of the sound and was coming right at him. He quickly dodged out of the way when the flurry of swipes was coming from the goblin greatsword. One however hit him and it sent him flying. For a moment he blacked out but when he came to he was standing upright with his blade in position. Clearly the work of Blaze. Melchior extended the blades tip towards the goblin, just like Blaze had done previously and fired off a bullet at it. However, this goblin was prepared and reflected the bullet back to Melchior using his greatswords flat side. Melchior blocked the bullet using his free hands gauntlet. Surprisingly enough, the gauntlet held and didn't even get a scratch. He then proceeded to retaliate with a leap forward, not as graciously as Blaze had done it but just as effective. Chopping off one of the goblins arms, it hissed at him and leaped backwards in an attempt to flee. Melchior saw his opportunity to finish him off and concentrated all his remaining energy into the blade. It responded in kind by changing its normal blue color into the fiery red. But something went wrong this time and the blade sent a wave towards Melchior instead, knocking him back into a tree that knocked him unconscious and the goblin disappeared into the woods.  
Blaze quickly took control but Melchiors body was too injured from the blast to move enough. He just simply watched as his pray ran away from him.  
After a couple of minutes Melchior finally came back too and noticed that he wasn't in his transformed state anymore.

"What happened?" He asked out loud, hoping that Blaze would still be there to reply.  
"_You didn't focus properly on the blade when you charged for the Revolver Break. It misfired and hit you instead._"  
"My body hurts all over. Did you finish him off when I was knocked out?"  
"_Sadly no, he got away because your body was too badly hurt for me to move around properly._"  
"Next time then. We'll get him."  
"_We? That was the last time I'm letting you control my powers. You are clearly not capable of controlling me just yet._"  
"Oh come on, that was just one mistake."  
"_One that you should not have done._"

Melchior didn't care to reply anymore and started to get back up on his feet. His body hurt a lot but he'd have to bare with it since it was his own mistake that got him wounded. With a few measly steps, one at a time he was closing in on the city, the place he thought that he'd be safe from any attacks. When he finally reached the city he made a delighted sound when he saw that his seat at the fountain was unoccupied. With a few strides like he was in no pain at all he arrived at the stone slab and quickly lied down on it. He sighed out loud as he finally got a moment of relaxation.

"_Can we have a proper conversation this time?_" Blazes' voice echoed in his head once more. However, Melchior didn't respond because he had dozed off at his comfortable stone slab. Once again he was observed but this time it was only one person hiding within the shadows of a building. His or her intentions was yet to be revealed.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Meanwhile in the Nether Realm. The other mysterious person from yesterday was kneeling in front of a throne. On the throne however was another person, completely covered in shadows, the shape however told that it was a female.

"Lady Panther, we've made observations that the Celestial Spirit Blaze has made contact with a human. They've bonded and defeated one of our goblin scouts."  
"Take it easy, Atrax. All is going according to our plans." The voice came from the shadow on the throne. Surprisingly calm considering the current circumstances. She rose up from her beautifully crafted throne and walked up to Atrax. Placing a seductive hand on his chin to lift his head up. Atrax however was shaking all over, worried that Panther would hurt him, or worse.

"Don't be so nervous, Atrax. I won't hurt you. Badly." She slapped him across his cheek, leaving a deep red mark. "You left your post for your poor little apprentice to keep watch on Blaze .. Alone!" She slapped Atrax once more but on the other cheek this time.  
"I'm sorry Lady Panther. I just thought that this information would be important. I'll head right back to assist my apprentice."  
"Now that's a good boy."

Atrax disappeared by melding in with the shadows, leaving Panther standing there in the midst of the deep shadows. A panther came into the room, moving very mechanically and giving off robotic sounds. Walking up to her and started stroking itself along her legs, she leaned down to pat it on its head. "Very soon, my dear. Very soon." she let out a small chuckle that evolved into a maniacal laughter as the panther next to her purred loudly.

* * *

**Alright, that's chapter two in the series, more will probably come if I get the motivation to write .. Haha that will probably happen since I really love Kamen Rider.  
As always, R&R ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3: Don't toy with the Blaze!

**Okay, since chapter 2 got such a marvelous response, I'm posting chapter 3 now ^_^ This chapter is a little shorter than the other two but it serves as a introduction for a new character .. Mostly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider belongs to Toei Inc. I do however own the idea of Blaze and the rest of the riders in this version.**

* * *

Melchior was once again woken up by a sunbeam that had found its way around his curtains. As usual he was very grumpy and did not want to leave bed but his stomach emitted a loud roar, it clearly signaled that he was very hungry, nearly starved even. He quickly grabbed his coat and wallet and ran out the door to eat some of his favorite food, ramen. However he did forget the goggles that were now lying on his desk near the bed. Blaze was not happy. Melchior was so busy eating that he completely forgot about Blaze but quickly remembered about him when he noticed that he was lacking his newest addition to his garments. Running back into his apartment he was met by a very ill tempered spirit.

"_How can you forget about your partner!?_" Blaze yelled out loud and the metal on the goggles almost turned red from the heat.  
"Sorry Blaze, I was so hungry that I just had to rush off."  
"_Just don't let it happen again. What if you would have been attacked by a goblin while you forgot me here?_"  
"I know, I know. I said I'm sorry."

The next line that Blaze said could not be heard due to a large explosion just outside of Melchior's apartment. Melchior quickly rushed over to the window to see what was going on and was met by a tornado of fire emitting from his favorite ramen shop. Strapping back the goggles on his head he rushed outside to see if he could help the owner with clearing the fire. He was stopped mid step by a huge hulking figure.

"_Dear divine flame! That's a Hobgoblin!_" Blaze stuttered out, his voice was trembling like he was scared of it.  
"He looks like an overgrown goblin with anger management issues."  
"_You're more or less correct._"

They did not have time to continue the discussion because of the hobgoblins leap towards them. Melchior dodged the blow by skidding to the right, changing the goggles into the belt in the same motion. Not many seconds later, Blaze was in control of his body in the transformed state. Blaze was quick in action and had already drawn his gunblade, firing off three rounds at his enemy in front of him and then leaped forward to slice him before he could regenerate. But before he could reach the beast, its head was cut off by a mysterious blade. The hulking beast didn't even have time to breath before it fell forward, crashing down to the ground with a large thumping sound as it hit. Dust was flying around them so they could not see who this mysterious person was until it settled. When it did, it revealed a woman wielding a double bladed bow in her left hand. Wearing a similar trench coat like Blaze's but silver instead of black and blue stripes instead of red. Her armor was also similar to Blaze's but had the same blue tint to them. Neither of them said anything for a good while until Blaze finally spoke out loud, clearly not happy.

"Hey! That was _my_ kill!"  
"First come first served." The mysterious rider answered in a arrogant tone.  
"I had him! You should not have interfered!"  
"Horse hockey. I've been tracking this guy for a while."  
"Prove it!"

The mysterious rider did not reply, instead she threw over a cell phone to them. Blaze caught it with ease using his free hand. He flipped it open and looked over at the other rider for a second before looking through photos of the very same beast trashing an unfamiliar area. He kept looking for a while before throwing it back to the other rider. He grunted as he started walking away from the scene, carrying his gunblade on his shoulder.

"Aww, is the poor little red rider pouting now because he lost to a girl?" the mysterious rider called out before Blaze got out of ears reach. Blaze immediately turned around and fired off a shot that just barely missed the helmet of the other rider.

"You took down my prey. That's it. I can take you down in a flash if I _want _to."  
"Oh, looks like someone needs a chill pill and a hug."  
"Don't even try, I'll cut you to pieces and burn you to a crisp before you can even blink." Blaze turned around again and started walking but raised a hand up in the air and called out a last thing before leaving.  
"Name's Blaze by the way. Stay out of my way would ya."  
"Neith."

Neith started walking away as well but in the other direction, away from Blaze. The two riders walking in opposite directions, enemies but yet allies. Rivals so to speak. Unknowing to both riders, they were being observed all the time by two shadows up on a rooftop.

"This is not good .. They made contact with each other."  
"You better not go running off to Panther again. She's just going to slap you again."  
"Don't remind me about that would you."

Atrax was still sore on his cheek from the previous slap from Panther and rubbed his hand on the clear red spot on his cheek. Both of them exchanged a look and then nodded before running off in their own directions to track both riders at the same time.

Later that day, the sun was about to go down and colored the skies in its purple and golden glow. Melchior could once again be found on his usual place, the fountain. He appeared to be calm and relaxed, just lying on the stone slab of the fountain. But in fact, he was thinking about what had happened previously. The other rider called Neith, the huge overgrown goblin, the fact that his favorite shop was destroyed in an instant. Where would he eat now, that was probably his greatest concern. Blaze on the other hand kept to himself, being in a very grumpy mood. So neither of them wanted to start any conversations. Melchior kept his gaze towards the skies and wondered for a moment why the skies were colored purple by a golden sun. That was an unneeded thought and he quickly shook it away from his head.

"_Are we going to do something today or are you just going to sulk all day?_" Blaze suddenly called out. A little blunt but he wanted to show that he cared about his user. Without him, he was useless after all.  
"What is there _to_ do? There's another rider in our area now, one who seems capable to do the job better. So why should I bother?"  
"_Listen to me now kid and listen well. I'm not going to let that newcomer just come here and steal __**my **__area! I was here first and I'm not going to let that newcomer take over!_"  
"So what if there's someone other than us here, they seem to do the job better anyway. Why can't I just be let off this job now? I don't seem to be needed anyway."  
"_That will mean that I will have to kill you, Melchior. The contract is until death. Are you sure you want that?_"  
"Kill me? I thought you said you couldn't kill me."  
"_I can if you break the contract._"  
"Okay, okay. I'll do it your way then."

Melchior let out a deep sigh, a sign that he had given up. If Blaze would have had a face, he would be gloating over his victory. Melchior got up on his feet and jumped down from the stone slab, once more looking up towards the skies. The purple and golden skies were long gone now, all that was left was a dark and starry sky.

In another end of the city, the user of Neith was scurrying around, trying to find a place to spend the night. Wearing olive green cargo pants, a pale orange belly shirt, gold bangles around her wrists and a rectangular shaped bag on her back. The only one who knows what's inside that said bag is her. It's something important to her and she wouldn't give it away for anything in the entire world. A voice echoed inside her head, it was probably Neith that was communicating with her about something. The user just waved a hand dismissively and started moving towards the nearest inn or hotel.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the third part out of many to come. This one was as said a little shorter but I do hope you can forgive me for that. As always R&R ^_^ (Beta read and edited by my wonderful fiance, Nathalorial "I apologize if I missed something ;)" )**


	4. Chapter 4: Stormy Weather!

**Woho here we go, chapter 4 is finally done. This chapter brings out a bit more personality from the users and riders. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider belongs to Toei Inc. I do however own the idea of Blaze and the rest of the riders in this version.**

* * *

Melchior didn't get to wake up by a casual sunbeam this morning. Instead he almost flew up from his bed and stuck himself to the ceiling when a thunder crack was heard outside his window. He tried to calm himself slightly but was quickly shocked again when his room lit up in a bright white color and another thunder crack was heard. There was a violent storm raging outside, a rare sight in the calm Sora City. Blaze could not help himself and started to laugh out loud when he saw the scared Melchior who now turned to the goggles that Blaze was inhabiting. But just as they were about to start a big argument, the weather outside cleared into a beautiful day. The sun was once again seeping into their room, notifying them both that the storm had passed.

"_What strange weather you have here in this city.._" Blaze exclaimed, if he would have had a face, he'd be showing a very interested expression.  
"I don't know about that. The weather is usually very calm here .. That's odd." Melchior crossed his arms and frowned heavily as he was thinking deeply about why the weather would suddenly change like that.  
"_Any ideas yet, Thinker?_" Blaze said with a hearty laugh afterward.  
"Oh shut it. Is there any demon in the Neather Realm that can control the weather?"  
"_Now that you mention it, there is. They are called the Athach, they can control the weather on their own will. They are mostly seen as scouts just like the goblins. However, these ones sees to it that the weather is in the favor of the demons before they send a attack force. I guess we have our mysterious friend to thank for its slaying then._" Blazes' voice turned very sour at the end of his little speech. He clearly showed his dislike of there being another rider there in his area.  
"_Anyway, grab your stuff, boy. We need to get moving. I will not lose this battle._"

Melchior couldn't help it but laugh as he was walking the usually busy streets. Small puddles of water could be seen everywhere around the road, a clear sign of the previous storm. He looked up into the skies that were now clear blue again, the sun stood high the skies signaling it was about midday. Blaze was worried about something and Melchior could feel it.

"What's wrong Blaze?" he asked out loud without thinking much before he spoke.  
"_Shh, keep quiet. We're not alone here Melchior. Look at that puddle over to your right. It shows a reflection of a storm. Is there a storm going on? No. That there is a Athach trying to hide itself. Transform into me, now!_"

Melchior grinned as he flicked the switch on the goggles and placed the belt over his waist, transforming quickly into Blaze who unsheathed the blade and fired two round into the puddle. Before the bullets even hit the puddle, it had begun to move and formed into a bodiless robe that was floating in the air. The hood covered what looked like two glowing eyes, glowing in a menacing red color. The athach quickly tried to retreat from Blaze as it was a weaker being, Blaze however quickly dashed ahead of it and cut off its escape path.

"Now, now. You know there's no escape for the likes of you." He said in a arrogant manner, like he knew that he would win against the athach. The athach knew that it was cornered and sent a powerful lightning bolt at Blaze who was knocked into the wall from the impact. Falling to one knee after crashing into the wall behind him, he steadily stood back up and held his blade in a defensive position. Suddenly out of nowhere, a flurry of arrows appeared and one of them struck the athach who made a wincing sound. A person jumped down from one of the rooftops near the battle area. It was Neith. She had observed the small battle and decided to pitch in when Blaze was struck. Blaze turned towards Neith and held up his blade against her.

"I told you to stay out of my way!" He exclaimed while small whirls of fire was spinning around his blade and arm.  
"I wasn't _in_ your way. I can easily use my bow without clogging up the battle area with an extra body."

Blaze didn't even attempt to respond and quickly rushed past Neith in order to reach the athach and slay it before it could escape, but Neith had fired an arrow that veined past his head and struck the athach in the hand it was about to cast another thunder bolt from. Blaze raised and then lowered his blade in a arcing motion to make two fine slashes that hit the athach perfectly over the mid-section of its body. Now mildly wounded the athach decided to try and flee once again but this time it took flight, outside of Blazes' reach. Blaze quickly turned around to see if Neith had responded, which she had and was loading a very powerful arrow into her bow and released it. Right before it hit its prey it broke out into several smaller arrows that showered upon the fiend and blasted it into bits within seconds.

"What was that attack? I've never seen an arrow like that." Blaze was walking up to Neith now, his usual hostility against the other rider was completely gone.  
"Sandblast Break."  
"I see, similar to my Revolver Break then I take it." He replied while tilting his neck just enough to make one of the vertebrae in his neck pop and make a loud cracking noise.  
"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen a 'Revolver Break' before." Neith replied in a cold tone that showed no sign on friendliness.  
"Oh come on, don't be like that now. I'm actually starting to like you. You showed some really neat tricks. How about we partner up instead? We could easily defend the city if there's the two of us." Blaze extended out a hand towards her. Neith took it in a firm and tight grip before finally shaking it. Blaze was smiling behind his helmet, using Mechior's face of course.  
"So, how can I trust this 'partnership'?" Neith suddenly spoke out in the same cold voice as before.  
"For one, we could show each other who our riders are."  
"Are you mad? That would compromise us both!"  
"Not if we do it in a secluded area. Like here in this alley."

Blaze started to move his hand towards his belt and noticed that Neith was doing the exact same thing. The next moment flames was wrapping in around Blaze and waves of water was circling around Neith. Both of them were removing their transformations at the same time. Out from the flames was Melchior with his usual grin on his face and unkempt black hair hanging in front of his eyes, covering most of his vision. When he moved it aside he saw that from the waves of water, there was now a woman standing there. Wearing olive colored cargo pants, a black belly shirt and a military style olive colored jacket over it. Her hair was long enough to reach her knees and was colored in a brownish tone. Melchior was baffled by the beauty of the user in front of him. The woman brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face before looking at Melchior and smiled before extending her hand towards him. Melchior quickly snapped back to reality and shook her hand.

"Name's Melchior. Most people around here tend to avoid me since I stick out like a sore thumb." Melchior said while flashing a wide grin.  
"Natha. People avoid me because they assume I carry a sword in my bag."  
"Well, are you carrying one?"  
"No, I'm carrying two." Natha stated while smiling.  
Melchior could not reply because he burst out into laughing. When he finally calmed down he looked up towards the skies.  
"I can already tell that we'll be good friends."  
_"She's not our friend, she's our partner. Learn the difference."_ Blaze's voice echoed inside Melchior's head.  
"Oh come on Blaze, what's wrong with having friends?" Melchior stated out loud without thinking ahead and flicked the goggles lightly. Natha raised an eyebrow.  
"You should really get in the habit of only talking to your spirit mentally. If someone saw you, they would think you're crazy. If an enemy were to see you, they would learn your identity, and no place would be safe anymore. I don't think you want to wake up with a knife in your chest."  
"Good point. Also, talk to the spirit mentally? I didn't know you could do that."  
_"Oh that's right. I forgot to mention that."_  
"Blaze you!.."

Melchior refrained from saying more out loud but thought it instead while waving his arms around in a furious manner. Blaze got every thought that Melchior transmitted to him. Natha was just standing there, holding a hand in front of her mouth as she giggled at the pair.

"I take it that you haven't been at this for long." Melchior looked up at Natha and nodded before speaking.  
"Only for a couple of days. Blaze just happened to stumble upon me when I was relaxing at the fountain here in the city. That's my favorite hang out spot. Not that I have anyone to hang out with anyway .." The last sentence had a tone of depression hidden in them. His hair fell down over his face at the same time  
"_With power come responsibility, Melchior. Soon you won't have time to 'hang out' with anyone anyway._"  
"_Oh shut it Blaze, let me enjoy this at least. I've never had a friend before."  
"Alright, alright. Do as you please."_

Just as Melchior was about to say his next sentence to Natha he was interrupted by his stomach that just gave out a loud roar to signal that he was very hungry. Both of them started laughing at the sound, Melchior mostly out of embarrassment. They both exchanged a look before Melchior turned and waved his arm as a signal for her to follow.

"I know a pretty good place to eat at if you're interested."  
"_Wasn't that place blown to smithereens already?"  
_"I do too, but it was just blown up yesterday."  
"Oh .. That's right .. Any better suggestions?"  
"No. I don't know this area, so I don't know what's available."

Melchior crossed his arms and was trying to think about where to go since the ramen shop he usually went to was blown up by the hobgoblin yesterday. He was just about to speak up and had his hand raised up as if he was about to say something important when a voice cut him off.

"You know, you shouldn't be talking in a alley like this, people might think you're up to something."

Both Melchior and Natha looked towards the direction the voice came from and saw a young man, about Melchior's age. Wearing a black school uniform and holding a open laptop in his right hand. He quickly typed in a couple of commands and then looked straight at Melchior before speaking.

"Melchior, age 22, no occupation. Currently Blaze's user."

Melchior didn't even have time to respond before the man switched his attention over to Natha.

"Natha, age 20, traveler. Currently Neith's user."  
"Who the hell are you!?"  
"Dude, you're creepy."

Both Melchior and Natha spoke up at the same time and stared at the man. Melchior was reaching up to the goggles just in case the man in front of him would turn out to be hostile. Natha was reaching for her swords in the bag at the same time. But the man just waved a hand in front of him and laughed.

"I am certainly not your enemy. We have a common goal. The elimination of the Nether Fiends. Right?"  
"As said before, _who _the hell are you!?" Melchior was now switching his goggles into the belt buckle and had it strapped around his waist. Natha had her swords out and ready.  
"Seems like I have no choice then." The man now pressed a button on his laptop and it folded itself into a similar belt buckle as Melchior had on him. He ran a hand over it and said out loud and clear, "Henshin". Melchior and Natha were quick to respond and started their transformations at the same time. Red and orange flames covering Melchior, waves of water covering Natha, not before long they were both in their transformed states with Blaze and Neith in charge. The man in front of them had green winds covering him before they dispersed from him, revealing his choice of weapon. A long halberd styled pole arm that had at least twice the reach of Blaze's Gunblade, not counting the ranged capabilities.

Blaze was first to act and drew his blade before charging up towards the green rider. The mysterious rider didn't even flinch as the gunblade hit him on his right shoulder. He laughed for a second before sending the blunt side of his pole arm into Blazes' side, sending him flying into the brick wall of the dark alley. With a loud grunt Blaze got up to his feet again and glared at the other rider. But before Blaze could react, an arrow flashed by him, Neith had finally joined in the battle and was firing arrow after arrow at the green rider. None of them hit its mark since the green rider kept deflecting them using his pole arm, some flying into the walls, some flying straight up the air and a lonesome few was deflected back towards Neith who easily dodged them while keeping her barrage up. Blaze saw his opportunity to strike and jumped up and used the wall behind him as a kick board to push himself towards the green rider, swinging his gunblade down and once more hit the green rider in the shoulder without any effect. Blaze cursed out loud before he was hit by the pole arm again but this time he managed to regain his balance mid air and skid across the ground, stopping right next to Neith.

"Let's take him down together." Blaze spoke up while taking up his blade that now switched to its fiery red color.  
"Right, you lead, I follow."

Neith started to draw back the bowstring and powering up a powerful arrow made out of pure energy. Blaze rushed forward with the gunblade high above him, burning fiercely. When he reached the green rider he slashed his blade horizontally at his mid section and then skid to the right so that Neith's arrow could get a clear hit. The arrow hit its mark without any doubt since the green rider did not have enough time to block it after Blaze's slash. He staggered backwards for a second before tilting his head back and let out a hearty laughter.

"It's been a good while since I had this much fun." He finally exclaimed after ending his laughter.  
"Who the hell are you anyway? You still haven't replied to that single question."  
"Oh Blaze, you've clearly misunderstood why we contacted you two in the first place."  
"Just answer the question would you."  
"Neith, oh Neith. I will in due time. But you two clearly showed that you didn't want to co-operate with me anyway."

But before either Blaze nor Neith could respond to his statement, he had disappeared in a green wave of wind. Leaving them there, pondering who the green rider was and completely out of breath.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Little did they both know that the whole battle had been observed by Panther in the Neather Realm. She was sitting in her throne with one leg over the other and constantly watching what had happened in her scrying ball. Letting out a small chuckle while her trusted mechanical panther came up to her and let out a purring sound to show that he wanted attention from his master. Panther placed a hand on the mechanical panthers head and stroked it a few times.

"Patience my dear. Soon you will have your chance at them all. We're still far too superior to them. An easy hunt isn't any fun, right?" The mechanical panther whined lowly as a response. "Oh don't you whine at me now. I will still let you have them. Just not yet.

* * *

**There, that's the end of this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it as I put a lot of effort into this chapter. It's been beta read once again by my fiance. I decided to bring out the third rider in the series in this chapter because the more characters I put out, the more content I can bring out for you readers. As always R&R, thank you ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5: The wind is calling!

**Chapter 5 is finally here! I'm sorry for the long delay! I was packing and preparing for the move back to Sweden since I was staying with my fiance in the states for a good while. But now I'm back in Sweden and writing again. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Who the heck was that creepy dude yesterday?"  
"How should I know? I've never seen him and I'm a local."  
"Well if we run into him again, we'll just beat him this time."  
"I guess .. If we can."

Melchior and Natha were both lying down on the stone slab at the fountain and were relaxing themselves after such a hectic day. Both of them were frowning and had crossed arms and were in deep thought. Melchior finally sat back up so quickly that he got lightheaded and fell back down to calm himself and then get back up, more slowly this time.

"Come to think of it! He did have a school uniform on him. That must mean that he's studying at the University here in the city."  
"Good job, Sherlock. That gives us at least some kind of clue where he'd be."  
"It's still school hours.."

Melchior looked at his wrist watch and jumped up to a standing position and extended a hand for Natha so he could help her up. Natha smiled and took the hand that then heaved her up to her feet. She then jumped down from the stone slab and started running towards a building with flags on it, clearly the university. She looked back for a moment and saw that Melchior was right behind her so she stuck her tongue out at him and increased her speed. Melchior sighed when he noticed that she gained more speed, he was clearly no match for her. They both stopped in front of the massive gates and exchanged a glance before walking over to the closest bench, obviously waiting for school hours to end.

After an hour they were both clearly bored out of their minds and were both tapping their feet. Melchior could not stand it anymore and stood up and started walking away with a loud grunt. Natha just looked after him and sighed.

"_Are you just gonna leave her there? You're more rude than I thought."  
"Oh shut it Blaze. I'm just going to grab something to eat for the both of us."  
"Ah .. My apologies Melch. I guess you're more of a gentleman after all."  
"I said shut it!"_

Melchior walked up to a hot dog stand and held up two fingers and gave the man the money for them. He started eating on his already while walking back to where Natha would be. Melchior waved lightly to Natha once she was within sight and she waved back. When she noticed the hot dog that he held in his hand she immediately jumped off the bench and ran up to him, stopping just inches away from bumping into him. She looked up at him with big watery eyes, nearly drooling.

"Is .. Is that one for me?" she asked with a sugary sweet voice that didn't seem to fit her at all.  
"Maybe, maybe not." Melchior grinned and held it out of her reach.  
"Meanie!"

No one could expect the next sound that would come out from nowhere. A loud growling noise came from Natha's stomach. One would think it came from the belly of a beast of some sort but no, it was from this young and sweet woman in front of Melchior. He immediately bent forward and started laughing so hard he was about to drop the hot dog that was meant for her. Natha took the opportunity and grabbed the hot dog and munched it down in almost just one bite. Melchior kept laughing and even had his head on Natha's shoulder without even noticing it. He immediately stopped laughing however when he was pushed off and stumbled backwards.

"I do appreciate the hot dog but please don't touch me. Alright?"  
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say."

They both glared at each other for a moment but they didn't get too much time to do that as the giant bell of the university rang to signal the end of school hours. Students were happily running out of the gates that now had opened up and were almost trampling Melchior and Natha. There was however that one student that kept his calm and were walking forward holding a laptop in one hand. He looked up at Melchior and Natha before speaking.

"Oh, it's you two. What do you want?"

Melchior was quick to action and rushed up and grabbed the guy by his collar in an attempt to threaten him. The grab was so fast and powerful that the guy was about to drop his laptop but he quickly got his balance back and glared back at Melchior.

"Now, now. There's no need to resort to violence is there?"  
"There is if you don't tell me who you are!"  
"I guess you've earned as much since you actually tracked me down to this school." He said with a sigh before continuing. "My name is Nicholas Aisora. I'm the son of the mayor of this city."  
"That explains why you can afford going to this school."  
"No, I earned my right to study here through a scholarship."

Melchior finally released his grip on Nicholas collar and took a couple of steps back while keeping his glare at him, he did not lower his hostility towards the guy because of the previous night. The two of them were glaring at each other for an eternity, or that's at least how Natha felt before she finally walked up and stood between them and spoke up in a angry tone.

"Are you two done yet? Could we get back to the point perhaps?"  
"Well certainly. I approached the two of you yesterday to form an alliance with you. Three is better than two isn't it?"  
"Yes, that makes sense."  
"An alliance with you? I'd rather die before that ever happens."  
"Oh come on Melchior. Don't be like that."  
_"You're making yourself look like a three year old, Melch."  
"Keep out of this Blaze."  
"I can't do that Melch. We need more firepower to defeat the Nether Fiends and you know that. He is a rider as well."  
_"By the looks of it, you're communicating with Blaze, are you not?"  
"Yeah, so shut up."  
"C'mon Melchior, we're here to talk to him, not assault him."  
_"She's right you know."_

Melchior crossed his arms and sighed once but then gave in and held his arms up in the air in defeat before throwing them down to his sides. Nicholas smirked and looked at his laptop for a second before typing in two commands and then turned it towards them so they could see what was on the screen. Showing their pictures and then after a short moment it showed their transformed states.

"I take it this would be the correct information. Or did I get some of the armor wrong?"  
"You got it alright .. I didn't know that the armor would be so ugly looking."  
"Mostly, but that's 'Egyptian Blue', not 'Sky Blue'. And I sleep in more than just my underwear, thank you!"  
"Oh, my apologies, I'll correct that right now."  
"Show off .." Melchior muttered lowly to himself, wondering how Nicholas knew what his favorite toothpaste was.

But before anyone could say anything else, footsteps were heard from the distance and a light clap of hands. They all looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man clad in black walking towards them with a wide smirk on his face while still clapping his hands in a sarcastic manner.

"Bravo, bravo. You've all gathered here in one spot so I can wipe you all out in just a moment."  
"Now who the hell are you?"  
"My, my, such harsh language. You'll find out in a moment."

After his said sentence the man snapped his fingers and darkness started to surround him and form the same trench coat and armor as the others would normally wear but in his case he was getting a chest plate and shoulder pads as well. He then bowed down graciously to the group.

"Atrax at your service."  
"Oh this is just what I needed.. Time to burn off some tension." Melchior quickly transformed into Blaze.  
"My, my .." Nicholas transformed as well and was holding his lance in a readied stance.  
"While your henshin was classy, style won't win a battle." Natha transformed with a quick twirl as the water surrounded her.

They were all staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Blaze finally rushed forward with his gunblade held high. He swung it downwards expecting to hit but his blade just crashed down into the concrete. Looking up he noticed that Atrax was just an inch from where the blade had been slashing down. He then tried to lift up his blade to slash him from bottom up but could not lift his blade up because Atrax was standing on the tip and spun around with a fierce kick that hit Blaze in the chest and sent him flying back to the others. Landing with a loud crash and rolling back up to the others, Neith was looking down on him.

"Do you need some assistance?"  
"That would be helpful.."

Neith then extended a hand down to Blaze who happily grabbed it and pulled himself up to his feet and dusted off his trench coat. Blaze was at a severe disadvantage now that he no longer had his gunblade in his hands.

"I need my blade back.."  
"Go for it, we'll take care of him."  
"Oh, you'll take care of me? We'll see about that."

Blaze dashed forward in an attempt to grab the hilt of his blade that was still stuck in the ground while Neith fired several arrows towards Atrax, trying to force him into dodging. Ventus however was already deep in action and was behind Atrax, appearing from the blind spot.

"You were less of a challenge than I would have expected. Put some effort into it will ya."

Ventus swung his lance in a horizontal manner and actually hit Atrax in the side which made him slide to the side almost knock him off balance. Atrax just chuckled and grabbed Ventus' lance and heaved him away by throwing the lance as well. Blaze had already gotten to his blade and held it towards Atrax before firing his entire clips worth of shots right at him.

"Too slow."

But when the dust settled down Atrax was just laughing, appearing to be completely unharmed from Blaze's attack. He then unsheathed his two daggers that were sitting by his belt and charged towards Blaze to unleash a flurry of slashes. At the end of the flurry an explosion in the shape of a big spider occurred and knocked Blaze into the nearby wall behind him and knocked him unconscious.

Atrax was laughing more manically this time and then shifted his gaze over to Ventus who twitched slightly from the evil aura emitting from him. Atrax used the moment of hesitation to his advantage by dashing in and using the same move as he did on Blaze and effectively getting rid of the ones who caused him the most trouble.

Neith decided to jump into the fray by splitting her bow into the two swords and launched a flurry against Atrax who deflected most of the blows but took some as well. Being forced the step backwards from Neith's flurry, Atrax leaped back and dashed back in to start his flurry. Now being attacked instead of being the one attacking, Neith was in trouble. Neith mimicked Atrax's move and leaped back but changed her swords into the bow mid leap.

"Back off you bastard!" she yelled out before firing off her special arrow and believed that it would hit but right before it struck him, he disappeared. Neith lowered her bow and thought that he ran away from the battle but only a moment later she fell to her knees.

"You should really keep your back clear before you lower your weapon." Atrax was standing behind her, spinning one dagger around his wrist.

"Is that any way to fight a lady?"  
"My, my, I fight everyone the same. Doesn't matter if you're a lady or lord."  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
"It was a pleasure defeating you all .. Even though you were no match to me. Sting Break."

Atrax raised his dagger and turned around so he had his back towards Neith and then sent the dagger down into her spine. The rider armor she was wearing protected her spinal cord from harm, but still rendered her unconscious and left a fleshy wound.

Before Atrax could finish them all off since they were now out of their transformed states, another dark looking rider leaped into the mass and stopped Atrax.

"Stop this now Atrax, orders from Lady Panther."  
"Oh please, this is the best part."  
"Lady Panther wants them alive, Atrax."  
"Such a shame .."

The two of them disappeared as fast as they had arrived leaving the gang on the ground, bleeding out from their wounds.

* * *

**This chapter has not been beta read, so if someone finds a spelling mistake, please tell me about it so I can fix it. Thanks!**


End file.
